Pixie Felts & Silk
Category: Textiles
About Pixie Felts & Silk
Pixie Felts is a mother/daughter team of two artists, Natalia Zisman (daughter) and Irena Nevolsky (mother), based in Richmond, BC. We have been fascinated by felting since 2012 and specialize in creating felted clothing and accessories in a variety of felting techniques, complementing them with traditional sewing. Felting is an intense physical process, where the texture of the wool is shaped by the artist’s hands, just like pottery. Our work is whimsical in nature, and each piece is unique, making exact duplication impossible. In 2018 we became fascinated with eco printing of local flora onto silk, and have added this technique to our arsenal of creative tools. We are passionate about color and texture and strive to create pieces that capture the world around us. We are strong supporters of upcycling and incorporate pieces of recycled fabrics into many of our designs, to contrast the tranquility of wool with the brightness and patterns of different fabrics.
We have participated in multiple Craft Markets, including Circle Craft and the West Coast Women's Show.
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In the delicate dance between nature and artistry, our creations emerge as a celebration of tactile beauty and the wonders of the natural world.
Materials used are Australian merino wool (18 – 21 micron), silk fabric (both new and recycled from scarves), silk gauze, silk fibers, viscose fibers, soybean fibers.
Process employed is wet felting, where the fibers (wool and any decorative fibers such as silk) are laid out by hand on a drawn out pattern, then wetted by soapy water, rolled around a pool noodle for 200 – 300 times and then finished up by hand felting.
The finishing of seams, stitching and fastenings (if required) on the finished product are done by sewing machine, overlock or by hand.
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For eco printing on silk, blank silk scarves are mordained with alum, then are layered with leaves soaked in iron,. The leaves are collected from local plants (except for eucalyptus, which is purchased from flower shops).
The scarves are then boiled in a steam bath for several hours, cleaned up, dried and ironed.
- Natalia & Irena
